Super-Earths have long-lasting oceans

For life as we know it to develop on other planets, those planets would need liquid water, or oceans. Geologic evidence suggests that Earth's oceans have existed for nearly the entire history of our world. But would that ...

Plate tectonics not needed to sustain life

There may be more habitable planets in the universe than we previously thought, according to Penn State geoscientists, who suggest that plate tectonics—long assumed to be a requirement for suitable conditions for life—are ...

How many Earth-like planets are around sun-like stars?

A new study provides the most accurate estimate of the frequency that planets that are similar to Earth in size and in distance from their host star occur around stars similar to our Sun. Knowing the rate that these potentially ...

Super-Earth Ross 508b skims habitable zone of red dwarf

The first exoplanet has been discovered by Subaru Strategic Program using the infrared spectrograph IRD on the Subaru Telescope (IRD-SSP). This planet, Ross 508b, is a super-Earth with about four times the mass of the Earth ...

Finding infant earths and potential life just got easier

Among the billions and billions of stars in the sky, where should astronomers look for infant Earths where life might develop? New research from Cornell University's Institute for Pale Blue Dots shows where - and when - infant ...

Habitable exoplanets are bad news for humanity

Last week, scientists announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, a planet 492 light years away in the Cygnus constellation. Kepler-186f is special because it marks the first planet almost exactly the same size as Earth orbiting ...

Could game theory help discover intelligent alien life?

New research from the University of Manchester suggests using a strategy linked to cooperative game playing known as 'game theory' in order to maximize the potential of finding intelligent alien life.

page 8 from 40